Cherry, 85, has hosted the "Coach's Corner" segment on "HNIC" for over three decadesGETTY IMAGES
Sportsnet's Don Cherry shot down a report that he may be on his way out at the net before the '19-20 NHL season, saying he was told a "week after the playoffs I would be back." Cherry took to Twitter to say he was "hurt and disappointed" that the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons would suggest that the long-running "Coach's Corner" segment on "HNIC" could be cut. Cherry: "The question I ask is this… why didn’t my friend Steve phone me and ask me?" (TWITTER.com, 7/7). Cherry has hosted "Coach's Corner" since '86 alongside Ron MacLean, but the former NHL coach came under fire last season for calling the Hurricanes a "'bunch of jerks' in response to the players doing their 'Storm Surge' celebrations at centre ice" (CP, 7/8). Simmons in the initial report noted Rogers is "cutting all over the place" and pointed out that Cherry is "handsomely compensated for his work" (TORONTO SUN, 7/7).
SURPRISED BY THE REPORT: Cherry yesterday said the report "caught me by surprise." He said, "I've been told by the three bosses that 'we're looking forward to next year, and there's no problem at all.'" THE ATHLETIC's Sean Fitz-Gerald cited sources as "wondering whether Rogers would consider moving Cherry away" from "Coach's Corner." But Cherry said he was "never concerned one bit" about that possibility. Cherry: "When you have a heavy-duty sponsor like Budweiser, it never even crossed my mind" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/8).
